| NET Bible | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 1The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem: | 1The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. |
| 2"Futile! Futile!" laments the Teacher, "Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!" | 2"Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher, "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity." |
| 3What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth? | 3What advantage does man have in all his work Which he does under the sun? |
| 4A generation comes and a generation goes, but the earth remains the same through the ages. | 4A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth remains forever. |
| 5The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries away to a place from which it rises again. | 5Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hastening to its place it rises there again. |
| 6The wind goes to the south and circles around to the north; round and round the wind goes and on its rounds it returns. | 6Blowing toward the south, Then turning toward the north, The wind continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the wind returns. |
| 7All the streams flow into the sea, but the sea is not full, and to the place where the streams flow, there they will flow again. | 7All the rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, There they flow again. |
| 8All this monotony is tiresome; no one can bear to describe it: The eye is never satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear ever content with hearing. | 8All things are wearisome; Man is not able to tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing. |
| 9What exists now is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing truly new on earth. | 9That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun. |
| 10Is there anything about which someone can say, "Look at this! It is new!"? It was already done long ago, before our time. | 10Is there anything of which one might say, "See this, it is new "? Already it has existed for ages Which were before us. |
| 11No one remembers the former events, nor will anyone remember the events that are yet to happen; they will not be remembered by the future generations. | 11There is no remembrance of earlier things; And also of the later things which will occur, There will be for them no remembrance Among those who will come later still. |
| 12I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. | 12I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. |
| 13I decided to carefully and thoroughly examine all that has been accomplished on earth. I concluded: God has given people a burdensome task that keeps them occupied. | 13And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is a grievous task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with. |
| 14I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth, and I concluded: Everything he has accomplished is futile--like chasing the wind! | 14I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind. |
| 15What is bent cannot be straightened, and what is missing cannot be supplied. | 15What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted. |
| 16I thought to myself, "I have become much wiser than any of my predecessors who ruled over Jerusalem; I have acquired much wisdom and knowledge." | 16I said to myself, "Behold, I have magnified and increased wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge." |
| 17So I decided to discern the benefit of wisdom and knowledge over foolish behavior and ideas; however, I concluded that even this endeavor is like trying to chase the wind! | 17And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind. |
| 18For with great wisdom comes great frustration; whoever increases his knowledge merely increases his heartache. | 18Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain. |
| NET Bible copyright © 1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. //netbible.com. Used by permission. All rights reserved. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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